Joel Sherman of the New York Post has a lot of nuggets about center fielders in this latest report posted Tuesday morning, but the biggest for Boston fans may be his talk of the Red Sox‘ interest in Cardinals center fielder Colby Rasmus. Sherman also lists Tampa Bay as a team that would be interested in the services of the 24-year-old who is hitting .245 with 11 home runs this season after posting stats of .276 and 23 last season.

However, the main focus of the article is the way the Rays are shopping B.J. Upton leading up to the deadline on Sunday. One AL official told Sherman the Rays “are asking for a ton” in any trade for the center fielder despite his struggles at the plate (.229/.310/.399) this season. The demand is there for Upton, however, because any team that has him under contract would control him through 2012, when his numbers have the potential to bounce back.

Sherman says the Cardinals, Pirates, Reds and Braves are “very serious” in their pursuits of Upton while the Royals and Nationals, both teams well out of playoff contention, could look to deal for him based on the “potential” aspect. WEEI.com’s own Alex Speier lays out why the Red Sox won’t be listed among those teams looking to acquire Upton.